Naseeruddin Shah Quotes

We may not like our times or many aspects of the time we live in but that is not the fault of art as such.

Every era needs a genre through which it understands itself.

It is difficult to make political art work.

Music and fashion are a sign of the times and a reflection of what people want and need at this very day and age.

What is art? Art talks about life; it's subversive.

The fact is I'm not making a film in order to draw pictures or make images about Iran.

Art is a tool by which society extends its perception.

Each time you see a Western movie, it's a good reflection of where things are in the world at that time. It's probably one of the purest forms of cinema that really tells you where the world is.

It's an artist's duty to reflect the times in which we live.

My films are a reflection of the society I live in, what I see and observe.

An artist is made to entertain. That's their primary goal, to entertain you. But some artists record the moments of time. You wouldn't know what was happening in the '20s and '30s; you got to check the song or art.

Artists have been very good at working for the church and for the state; communicating the aspirations of a society.

'Narcos' was a very strong experience, not only artistically and politically, but as a human being.

Characters work really well when they're reflective of the times that they're operating in.

When I see beautiful clothes, I want to keep them, preserve them... Clothes, like architecture and art, reflect an era.

Drawing the kind of comics that I do takes so long that to specifically address something as transitory as a political matter in it would be about as effective as composing a symphony with hopes that it would depose a despot. On top of that, I personally don't think that my version of art is the best way to deal with political issues at all, or, more specifically, the place to make a point. Not that art can't, but it's the rare art that still creates something lasting if its main aim was purely to change a particular unfair social structure.

I feel the popular music of a certain time really tells you a lot about what life was like in that period.

literature is an instrument of a culture, not a summary of it.

I think the music reflects the state that the society is in. It doesn't suggest the state. I think the poets and musicians and artists are of the age - not only do they lead the age on, but they also reflect that age. [...] Like The Beatles. We came out of Liverpool and we reflected our background and we reflected our thoughts in what we sang, and that's all people are doing.

Art does not exist only to entertain, but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, in a constant search for truth.

In every domain of art, a work that corresponds to the need of its day carries a message of social and cultural value. It is the artist who crystallizes his age ... who fixes his time in history.

what society requires from art ... is that it function as an early warning system.

It is through you, actors, that the forces which are understood by millions and that tell of everything that is beautiful on earth, find expression. The forces which reveal to people the happiness of living in a widened consciousness and in the joy of creative work for the whole world. You, the actors of a theatre, which is one of the centres of human culture, will never be understood by the people if you are unable to reflect the spiritual needs of your time, the now in which you are living.

I think it's a very important function of art to challenge accepted reality, especially when that reality is created by powerful interest groups.

If you look at any great fashion photograph out of context, it will tell you just as much about what's going on in the world as a headline in the New York Times.